FORTUNATELY, I have in-laws. my wife's older brother came over today and we played co-op campaign for about 4 hours. We got to the beginning of the fifth section (which I think is the last: it's gels).

I mostly pop in occasionally to give my two cents on certain controversial things, so if you disagree then send a PM, because I generally don't check for replies in threads in case I feel like replying and then things get heated/derailed.

In the entire history of video games, there aren't very many that literally changed how people think. And not just thinking in the sense of "where in God's name can they have hidden the red key this time?" but thinking in the sense of "wait, if I grow lungs I can live on land?" Something like Doom or Quake or even Joust, those are games we could all play in a warehouse if we really wanted to. Maybe we don't have flying ostriches, but we could dress up sheepdogs or something. But when you're playing a game that literally is based around the idea that you can make a hole in the game... man. That's something that you can only do in the computer. How could you walk through a warehouse wall and then fall through the ceiling in the real world? We all get a little bit closer to the singularity today, ladies and gentlemen. Unless, of course, it sucks. Then it's just a crappy game from some sellouts who need to get off their butts and make a new Half-Life.

Kudos to you, man - I gave up on it. :) They do good writeups at Woot, on shirts and non-shirts alike. Not portal-related, but here's a link to where you can see the rest of their currently-available shirts:

In the entire history of video games, there aren't very many that literally changed how people think. And not just thinking in the sense of "where in God's name can they have hidden the red key this time?" but thinking in the sense of "wait, if I grow lungs I can live on land?" Something like Doom or Quake or even Joust, those are games we could all play in a warehouse if we really wanted to. Maybe we don't have flying ostriches, but we could dress up sheepdogs or something. But when you're playing a game that literally is based around the idea that you can make a hole in the game... man. That's something that you can only do in the computer. How could you walk through a warehouse wall and then fall through the ceiling in the real world? We all get a little bit closer to the singularity today, ladies and gentlemen. Unless, of course, it sucks. Then it's just a crappy game from some sellouts who need to get off their butts and make a new Half-Life.

Damnit, I got it wrong, I think I skipped a few lines in the middle. Looks like the start of a new logic puzzle style: Portal words.

Finished the single player the other day. That game is jazz, totally perfect. Though, probably my favorite part of the game was the middle section where you're in the basement... very Bioshock, though less sinister and more happy-crazy. I wasn't too sure about the final act though, the gravity beams were okay, but after the dark, broken basement, the final section felt too sterile, I would have liked another change in scenery. Though, it was fairly short. Loved the ending though... WOW. Who knew that Portal walls could be "anything" the color white! That was out-of-this-world!

Lol, it would be interesting to see a Portal game in an urban environment, though... fuck with people walking down the street!

I just finished Chapter 2 last night and while I do like the mechanics and innovative puzzle solving needed, and of course the vocals absolutely crack me up, it hasn't "grabbed" me yet. I mean I am enjoying it but I'm not overwhelmed with it (yet). Of course it is still pretty early in the game...